This Japan Rail Pass guide comes from my week in Japan travelling on a 7-day Green Car pass.
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My Week on the Japan Rail Pass
I planned my trip carefully, because I had to spend the last couple of days at an exhibition at Makuhari Messe in Chiba City, just outside Tokyo where I stayed at the APA Hotel & Resort Tokyo Bay Makuhari hotel. With only seven days, I wanted to see as much of Japan as I could before then.
The rail pass made that possible. I first used it to get from Narita Airport to my first night at the Hotel Indigo Tokyo Shibuya, which I have also reviewed. From there, it took me to Kyoto to see Kyoto Tower, where I ate a wagyu burger at NickStock and conveyor belt sushi at Daikai Suisan, both in the Kyoto Tower Sando food hall. Next, it took me on to Hiroshima to visit the Atomic Bomb Dome, before bringing me back to Tokyo and the BnA Wall Art Hotel in Nihonbashi.
Here I will outline what I managed to learn about the Bullet Train (Shinkansen) network in such a short trip. Although realistically and from my own experience on this trip. I would recommend at least a 21 day trip to Japan to fit everything in, that you might like to see without feeling too rushed.
As despite the bullet trains being fast and running like clockwork, it still eats up time getting in and out of super busy stations and travelling between cities. I recommend you get a Green Car Pass for the extra space, more below.
Is a Japan Rail Pass Worth It?
Realistically, and from my own experience on this trip, I would recommend at least 21 days in Japan to fit in everything you might like to see without feeling rushed. Although the bullet trains are fast and run like clockwork, getting in and out of super busy stations and travelling between cities still eats up time.
Therefore, you will need to weigh up the pros and cons of whether a JRPass suits your trip, how much rail travel you will do, and whether to buy individual tickets for each leg of your journey instead. The simplest way to decide is to add up the fares for each long journey you plan, then compare the total with the current price on the official Japan Rail Pass website. For example, if you plan to stop at every station between Tokyo and Osaka to explore, there is no point getting the Nozomi Shinkansen, as it will not stop at all of those stations, so a slower train service would suit you better.
Regional JRPasses are also available. For example, if your trip is only in the Hokkaido region of Northern Japan, you would be better off with a regional JRPass rather than a national one.
Purchasing a Japan Rail Pass
You can buy the Japan Rail Pass online before your trip, either from JR’s official Japan Rail Pass website or from an authorised agent, in 7-day, 14-day or 21-day versions. Since October 2026, agents have charged more than JR’s own website for the same pass, so compare both before you buy.
I pre-booked a Green Car Japan Rail Pass, and I recommend the Green Car for the extra space, which I explain in the Green Car section below.
Nozomi and Mizuho Trains
The Japan Rail Pass covers every Shinkansen service, but the Nozomi and Mizuho, the fastest trains on the Tokaido, Sanyo and Kyushu lines, need a supplementary ticket on top of the pass. Before my trip, adverts still described these trains as excluded, and I only learned about the supplement during the trip from a bilingual British tourist.
You buy the supplement at Shinkansen ticket machines or ticket offices, and the price depends on how far you travel. If you would rather not pay it, the Hikari, Sakura and Kodama trains on the same lines are fully covered by the pass and only take a little longer.
JRPass Meet and Greet Service
As an Aspie traveller who doesn’t speak Japanese, I decided to try the JRPass Meet and Greet (M&G) service, which I pre-purchased with my JRPass. At Narita Airport [NRT] arrivals, I was met by a chap holding a sign with my name on it, who said he was from Bangladesh and spoke fluent Japanese, and was friendly and attentive (apologies, I cannot remember his name).
He basically became my guide for around two hours and helped me find a cash machine, exchange my JRPass coupon letter for the physical Japan Rail Pass tickets and book seat reservations. He also explained how to use the rail ticket machines, and when the ticket barrier spat out my first ticket, he helped me get it replaced with a new one.
The Meet and Greet (M&G) service is available at Haneda Airport, Narita Airport and Kansai Airport.
Using the Shinkansen (Bullet Train)
Shinkansen Line Names
Japan’s high-speed Shinkansen lines include the Tokaido, Sanyo, Tohoku, Akita, Yamagata, Joetsu, Kyushu, Nishi-Kyushu, Hokkaido and Hokuriku. Hundreds of Shinkansen trains run on them every day, which is why seat reservations and car numbers at the platform entry points matter.
The Tokaido Shinkansen between Tokyo and Osaka alone runs over 370 trains a day, according to JR Central. Japan has 10 Shinkansen lines in total, although the Akita and Yamagata lines are mini-Shinkansen, which run on upgraded conventional track at lower speeds.
The 10 Shinkansen Lines
- Tokaido Shinkansen: Tokyo – Shin-Osaka (the oldest and busiest line)
- Sanyo Shinkansen: Shin-Osaka – Hakata (Fukuoka)
- Kyushu Shinkansen: Hakata – Kagoshima-Chuo
- Tohoku Shinkansen: Tokyo – Shin-Aomori
- Hokkaido Shinkansen: Shin-Aomori – Shin-Hakodate-Hokuto
- Hokuriku Shinkansen: Takasaki – Tsuruga (trains run through from Tokyo)
- Joetsu Shinkansen: Omiya – Niigata (trains run through from Tokyo)
- Akita Shinkansen: Morioka – Akita (mini-Shinkansen)
- Yamagata Shinkansen: Fukushima – Shinjo (mini-Shinkansen)
- Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen: Takeo-Onsen – Nagasaki (not connected to the rest of the network, so change at Takeo-Onsen for the Relay Kamome express to Hakata)
I filmed the pink Hello Kitty Shinkansen on my trip, but I understand that JR West has since ended the Hello Kitty liveried Shinkansen service on 17 May 2026, after an eight-year run on the Sanyo Shinkansen line.
How to Understand Shinkansen Gantry Signs
Bilingual gantry signs in Japanese and English make this easier, which helps a lot, because most people in Japan do not speak English.
For example, the gantry may say:
Platform 14:
- Nozomi 215, 11:33 Shin-Osaka, Non-Reserved Car No 1-3
- Hikari 505, 11:43 Okayama, Non-Reserved Car No 1-5
- Nozomi 129, 12:16 Hakata, Non-Reserved Car No 1-3
How to Board the Bullet Trains
I suggest you line yourself up with the entry point for the car number on your ticket. Marks on the platform and the overhead gantry signs guide passengers, so you board the correct train. You only have 60 seconds to get on, halved if passengers are getting off, and these trains do not wait for people running down the platform!
Green Car Benefits
The Green Car is essentially the First Class carriage or carriages on the Shinkansen trains. I travelled in a standard car on an unreserved train once, so I can see the differences. The Green Car seats are more comfortable and less crowded, they are wider with a greater pitch, and they recline a fair way without annoying the passenger behind you.
In addition, Green Cars provide seat power outlets with USB-A and USB-C ports for charging phones and laptops. There is also WiFi on the trains, although it is a public open connection, which is why I have prepared a guide to the Best VPN for Travel. I have used NordVPN for 10+ years and highly recommend it.
A train host hands out a sealed wet wipe, which is quite common in Japan, although I am not sure the wet wipe has any purpose other than advertising the company branding on the packet. Not even the coffee is free of charge in the Green Car.
Welcome Suica Cards
The local guide from the Meet and Greet service advised me to buy a Welcome Suica card when I arrived. Welcome Suica cards are red, while the standard Suica is green and works more like London’s Oyster card. You can use either card anywhere that displays the Suica or IC logo.
You must pre-load a Suica card with Japanese yen, and you can top it up as needed, but a Welcome Suica is valid for only 28 days. If you do not use the full amount you pre-load, you essentially lose the remaining balance. You can also use the card to pay for buses, metro and subway rides, and purchases at vending machines across Japan, which sell hot and cold drinks, snacks, toys and more.
My Meet and Greet guide advised me to load at least ¥3,000 onto the card, and pushed towards ¥4,000. However, I pre-loaded ¥2,000, and even for one person on a 7-day trip, that was too much.
Using Suica Cards at Vending Machines in Japan
These three vending machines sell snacks and bento boxes, ice creams and even cans of hot coffee, which genuinely surprised me. Elsewhere, I also saw machines selling anime products, Japanese toys, fresh eggs, hot ramen, umbrellas, batteries, face masks and beer.
I don’t think the guide was on commission to pre-load the card with more yen. However, if you drink a lot of fizzy drinks from vending machines, even ¥2,000 goes a long way, as the drinks cost around ¥120 to ¥180 when I was there. For example, Pocari Sweat, an electrolyte drink I mention in my hydration travel guide, was typically around ¥160. When I left Japan, I gifted my Welcome Suica card to the airport check-in girl, with ¥1,460 still on it!
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